Susanne & Company

Yesterday, I had the distinct pleasure of visiting Susanne & Company, a clothing shop in downtown Wickenburg.

Susanne & Company is located on North Washington Street, down the street from the Wickenburg Sun office. It’s not easy to find if you don’t already know where it is. From the traffic light at Tegner and Wickenburg Way, turn onto north Tegner. Take that to the first left and turn left. At the second block (North Washington), which is just over the railroad tracks, make a right. Susanne & company is on the left, between DeVries Custom Coachworks and the Pollman-Voehl insurance agency. Even with that much information, you still may not see it at first. It’s tucked away in a back building, accessible through a nice little courtyard. Look for the flag out front and you should be able to find it.

One step into the outer room and you’ll know you’re in for something special. The room is tastefully decorated and includes two chairs (for waiting husbands, I presume). There is artwork (for sale) on the walls, and the “sale rack” of items being cleared out to make room for new merchandise. A colorful dress form stands near the door.

The outer room of Susanne & Company’s shop.

Inside, the place is like nothing else in Wickenburg. Susanne & Company is a true boutique, a place where you’ll find a limited number of high quality items displayed so you can actually see them. The shop offers casual, business, and semi-formal attire, including dresses, skirts, blouses, knit tops, jackets, and shoes. You’ll also find accessories like purses and an amazing collection of unique and artistic jewelry. Everything is beautiful and fashionable. And because there are only two or three of each item, you won’t have to worry about buying something special and seeing someone else in town wearing it to the same event.

Susanne & Company’s shop.

But the best thing about Susanne & Company is the service. I had come to Susanne’s with my mother-in-law, an older woman who was visiting from New York. Susanne was extremely attentive to her needs, helping her find items in her size, assisting her when she wanted to try on jewelry, recommending other items she might be interested in. Susanne showed an unusual amount of patience and understanding during the hour we spent in the shop. Unaccustomed to such attention, it made our experience quite special. My mother-in-law felt pampered and I’m sure she’ll be telling her friends in New York about it frequently during the weeks to come.

I asked Susanne about her location and why she’d selected it. She explained that she liked the building, which had been previously used as an artist’s gallery. But more important, she was not interested in catering to the “drive through crowd”—people who stop in town just to stretch their legs, then walk into shops and paw though merchandise as a way to pass the time. By making her shop a little harder to find, Susanne is assured that the people who come in are genuinely interested in shopping for the kind of merchandise she carries. And with fewer people in the shop, she can give each customer the attention she deserves.

My mother-in-law purchased a pink warm-up suit, two pieces of jewelry—one of which was for lucky me!—and a bar of aromatherapy soap. Susanne wrapped each item carefully in tissue before putting it in a paper shopping bag—just what you’d expect at a fine boutique.

Susanne & Company is a pleasant addition to Wickenburg’s shopping experience. I look forward to stopping in again soon.